Is it possible to add other capture drivers into MSP7

[DB83]

I have just acquired a very basic PCI capture card with the sole intention to do some PAL-60 captures - the card supports it with the right driver.

But reading some of the data about the driver, this caught my eye

"Features

You can capture at full framerate in full screen.
You can capture individual fields (this requires an application that uses the DirectShow API to capture video). Don't know if an app. that let you capture individual fields using DirectShow API already exists. Obviously, there exists lots of apps that let you capture full frames and video using DirectShow.
You can capture at any framerate you like : This is specially important for Video For Windows API based capture applications (As Adobe Premiere). This is a feature you won´t get normally with all the others (generic) WDM drivers
There is plenty of capture video formats (all supported by DirectShow and the hardware). For example, use YV12 for MPEG capture - Performance Boost!)
You can use all the newer/(faster) DirectShow capture applications . (I would recommend Ulead Media Studio Pro, or Ulead Visual Studio, as those can use this driver to capture full frame size/full rate mpeg2 video.
All the video capture programs will let you use the TV tuner as your source, and change channels inside them if you like"

So my question is, how is it possible to 'import' more capture drivers into MSP7 ?

I also have MSP5 and that IIRC supported VFW capture but not sure how it stood with a WDM driver.

[Devil]

I'm not sure you can, neither am I sure what you are trying to do.

Basically, there are two types of capture card:
1. that uses a hardware codec, usually with good performance, but limited in scope
2. that uses a software codec, which offers most flexibility, as you can swap the codec and settings to give you the results you need.
(there are also a few that do both.)

Either will work with MSP, provided that you have the appropriate codec loaded for 2). There is a wide variety of codecs, some of which come with MSP as standard and others come with Windows.

Note that PAL60 is a bastardised non-standard. I'm not sure that many codecs will support it.

If you tell us more about your hardware, codecs and what you want to do, we may be able to help you.

[DB83]

Hi. Thanks for the input.

The capture card is a Hauppauge WinTv Express which is powered by a Brooktree B878 chip. Most newer cards do not use this chip but it seems to be popular with enthusiasts due to 3rd party software being written for it.

This replacement capture driver BTWinCap is one such item and I copy/pasted some of the notes in my original post as the author suggested that atleast one version of MediaStudio would work with it. As the driver was written in 2004, my thoughts were with MSP5(but it could be v6 which I do not have) rather than MSP7. But the author does not state how this is done.

Basically, if I was to re-install MSP5, would the program pick up this capture card and include the driver for capture purposes. This is where the doubts creep in. When I originally had this program installed I had a matrox capture card. Yes, the program recognised the card but it worked under VFW. This driver is WDM.

Equally, if I simply re-install MSP7 can I do the same. Of course I can just try that but wondered if there was a way of just importing another driver into the already installed program.

Here is the basic set-up. The VCR feeds the card via a composite connection. The signal is PAL-60 as it is an NTSC tape.

There is third-party recording software available but having toyed with that it seems to be quite a steep learning curve. I also have another program called Dscaler. But this is more a viewing program than recording software but it does show the full frame PAL-60 image alas with no sound.

[Devil]

Sorry but I have no idea how you can do this. If you use the Happauge capture module, you should be able to import the captured file into MSP, but it will depend on the format that Happauge uses and whether you have the appropriate codec installed.

[asande]

Hi. Thanks for the input.

The capture card is a Hauppauge WinTv Express which is powered by a Brooktree B878 chip. Most newer cards do not use this chip but it seems to be popular with enthusiasts due to 3rd party software being written for it.

I'm not sure about the Hauppauge card (I have two WinTV setups - but not on a PC with MSP on it). My main MSP computer has an ATI All-In-Wonder installed, and the MSP 8.0 capture application recognizes the ATI Rage Theater capture driver - so I suspect the Hauppauge will work as well. I'm not sure about MSP 7 as I no longer have it installed on this PC, but I seem to remember it working there as well...

On MSP8, I can access this in the capture utility from the Setup menu, "Ulead DirectShow Capture Plugin. My webcam also shows up here as a capture device...

Regards, Al

[DB83]

As the saying goes "In for a penny, in for a pound"

Re-installed the Hauppauge s/w drivers etc from scratch. Fired up MSP7 and it saw the card under DirectShow.

Ran the tape and with a PAL setting there it was in the preview screen. My first attempt (before re-installing) gave some garbage and captured at half the speed that was selected - the top of the screen was severely cropped - but now it seems to be better.

The screen looks complete - slightly squashed - except that the bottom 20% of the preview window is green. That green area also appears in the captured video. But there's no problem to crop that off and re-size to the proper NTSC dimensions - capture is already 30fps.

Cannot check the sound just yet as the inputs are not RCA - adapter cable on it's way.

And the real strange bit. All this with the original drivers, not the one which claimed to do the job - that really fcuked the display up.

Mission accomplished and, again, many thanks to all respondants.

[sjj1805]

I normally capture from my two Hauppauge cards using its native software WinTV2000 which has far more control because it is the software native to that make of card.

Then simply import the captured video into the Video Editor of your choice.

[asande]

I normally capture from my two Hauppauge cards using its native software WinTV2000 which has far more control because it is the software native to that make of card.

Then simply import the captured video into the Video Editor of your choice.

I tried this and found that I could edit files that were "explicitly saved" (in other words, had a firm start and end time), but the Hauppauge files that were from my 4 hour pause buffer, even though the same format and specs, didn't really work very well. My system would essentially hang trying to import these into MSP8, although MSP did recognize them...

I also tried Windows Movie Maker with the same result, so there's some kind of problem with the particular files I'm creating with Hauppauge and WinTV.

I edit MPG files created with my ATI capture card all the time as it also serves as a VCR and I hate commercials <g>...

Al

[sjj1805]

.....
I tried this and found that I could edit files that were "explicitly saved" (in other words, had a firm start and end time), but the Hauppauge files that were from my 4 hour pause buffer, even though the same format and specs, didn't really work very well. My system would essentially hang trying to import these into MSP8, although MSP did recognize them........

You've raised an interesting observation here - one worthy of some further exploration/investigation. See this screen shot and although DVD Long Play is set, notice what WinTV2000 has defaulted to whilst I have Live TV active.

[asande]

You've raised an interesting observation here - one worthy of some further exploration/investigation. See this screen shot and although DVD Long Play is set, notice what WinTV2000 has defaulted to whilst I have Live TV active.

I've never had much luck with trying to changes WinTV's capture settings - I always seem to end up with a high-quality DVD format (about 3 gigs/hour for capture) regardless of what I choose.

To be honest, I don't do any permanent recording from WinTV - I use ATI's software instead on another PC with an All In Wonder card for recording TV. Even with the low res settings I use (I capture in MPEG2 - but at 352x240 resolution - NTSC where I live) - but once I created equivalent project settings in MSP, it's quite happy to edit it.

Most of my MSP work is DV, though...